


Mellark Mistletoe

by dandeliononfire



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Christmas AU, Christmas Fluff, F/M, God bless Finnick, Modern AU, and a bit dangerous, and don't forget the wd-40, and the ace wrap, angst-free zone, peeta just wants the kids to go to bed so he can play with katniss, this is total fluff, this kids are clever, toastbabies - Freeform, toastchildren getting up to no good, you've never seen me write so little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 12:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19005937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dandeliononfire/pseuds/dandeliononfire
Summary: A box from Santa mysteriously appears on the Mellark family doorstep on Christmas Eve. Will Peeta be able to use the gift to get the kids to bed early so he can spend some private time with his wife?  Or, will a particularly crafty ToastChild's determination to hunt and capture Santa get thwart Peeta's hopes and dreams? Pure Holiday Fluff.Originally a submission for @everlarkbirthdaygifts on Tumblr





	Mellark Mistletoe

##  **“Mellark Mistletoe”**

Prompt: Toastbaby fluff with more than two toastbabies.

Rated: I’ll go with E, but really it’s probably just M there at the end.

Triggers: None, unless you were traumatized by someone in a Santa suit when you were a child.

A/N: Happy Birthday to [@ixshipxit](https://tmblr.co/mgZ1nVb8TRriONVawcVTy6Q)

! I hope I’ve delivered the toastbabies love your friend asked for your birthday! Also, a wink to [@notanislander](https://tmblr.co/mNxoBFU1BBNk41Wekrjxg5Q) when it comes to the kids’ names and the last line. Let’s see if you (or anyone else) get the references.

 **Summary:**  Santa sends an early special delivery to the Mellark household… for his own benefit.

It was Christmas Eve number ten.  
  
Ten years since Katniss and Peeta exchanged “ _reals_ ” along with their “ _I dos_ ” at their wedding.  
  
Nine years since Susan was born, blond haired and blue eyed like her father. They thought she’d turn out like her mom, given the sharp wit and stubborn streak she’d shown from a young age. But if anything, she’d turned out more like her great-uncle Haymitch. Sly, blunt to the point of being rude at times, and terrifyingly perceptive.  
  
Six years since Richard was born, blond haired and grey eyed. They thought he would be like Peeta, because he was a curious mix of outgoing confidence and shyness. But instead he turned out more like his Aunt Prim, iron willed but with delicate emotions.  
  
They stopped. Two would be enough.  
  
Two was enough.  
  
They  _thought_  they’d stopped.  
  
But now it was five years since the twins were born. Aiden and Mullin. Brother and sister. Both with fast growing dark locks, and blue eyes. A trouble team from the start. Fiercely loyal to each other. Fiercely protective. And both trouble for anyone who tangled with them.  
  
“Katniss?” Peeta walked into the kitchen while looking over his shoulder back towards the living room. The sound of Mickey’s A Christmas Carol was blasting out loud and clear from the television there. Katniss looked up from working her way through a sink full of dishes. It had been Peeta’s night to cook, and hers to wash up.  
  
“What’s up, Buns?”  
  
Peeta gave her a pleased smile and raised both eyebrows.  
  
“Buns, huh?” He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and swayed her with him gently, “You only call me that when you’re feeling frisky.”  
  
She laughed and splashed dishwater over her shoulder at him, “Or when I’m hungry, Peeta.”  
  
“It’s a good thing you married a baker then,” he growled playfully into her hair while pushing forward with his hips so hers were pressed against the counter. He nosed the back of her ear, “Fortunately, I can tell from the moans that escape your lips when I… satisfy that hunger… that my baked goods have a knack for  _rising_  to the occasion.”  
  
“Oh my God, stop,” she laughed, splashing him again.  
  
“And are you feeling hungry, Mrs. Mellark?” He tilted his head so he could nose behind her other ear, “Because if dinner wasn’t enough, I’m sure I could warm something else…  _up_ … for you.”  
  
“The kids are going to hear you,” she hissed, trying to keep from laughing. “And I’ve already heard all your bad baking puns a million times.”  
  
“And yet they still make you blush,” he murmured into her shoulder. “There are worse games we could play.”  
  
She picked a plate out of the dish water to scrub, humming intermittently as Peeta pulled her braid loose, ran his fingers through her hair and then gathered it out of his way so he could press soft kisses against the nape of her neck.  
  
Before long the plate was forgotten and Katniss simply stood still and enjoyed the attention.  
  
His breath grazed her earlobe again, “I came in here because Rich and Mulls are watching tv, and Sooz is up in her room, but I can’t find Aiden anywhere.”  
  
If it were either of the other two younger kids who’d gone temporally missing, they’d be searching frantically. But Aiden often went “missing” when he felt he had a “mission.” They’d learned a year ago to find a balance between their parental panic and the reality that Aiden possessed a keen ability to take care of himself and his sister.  
  
Katniss sighed, “He’s probably setting traps for Santa again.”  
  
Peeta pulled aside the collar of her shirt so he could nibble on her shoulder, “Probably. I couldn’t find him in the attic, or the garage, or in their room.”  
  
“Did you check the chimney?”  
  
“I checked the chimney.”  
  
The year before, Aiden had set a snare in the chimney to catch St. Nick in the act of breaking and entering. Unlike Richard, who was thrilled at the idea of Santa Clause, Aiden resented having his borders violated every year and was determined to put a stop to it. This created a strain on little Mullin, whose eyes lit up just at the idea of Santa. And, if anything, she was convinced of his existence as much by Aiden’s determined drive to catch him as anything else. But out of loyalty to her brother, she tried hard to pretend she wasn’t uninterested in the red-clad man when Aiden was around.  
  
Katniss had found the trap, a clever concoction of empty tin cans, bells and twine tied up in what was meant to be a slipknot, and had played with it to make it look like Aiden had nearly gotten his target.  
  
“Just wait until he’s old enough to hunt the tooth fairy,” Katniss joked. But for now the prey was only Santa. She grabbed another plate to wash, “Mulls will know.”  
  
“Mmm hmm,” Peeta murmured into the crook of her neck, causing her eyes to close and her body to relax back against him. “But you know she won’t talk to me. She has a weak spot for her brother and her mother and that’s it. So,” he leaned back and suddenly slapped her on the ass, “go interrogate our baby girl while I finish up in here.”  
  
Katniss turned around and gave Peeta a playful grin as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel, “Careful there, Buns. Don’t start something that trying to put four kids to bed on Christmas Eve will leave you too tired for.”  
  
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he leered. “This baker plans to keep the oven stoked all night.”  
  
Katniss shook her head and left for the living room. She found Mullin snuggled up under Richard’s arm as they watched the cartoon.  
  
She started out with an easy question, “Where’s your big sister?”  
  
Mullin looked up to her mom, chin out and eyes sad, “Sooz called us >rimps and left us!”  
  
“ _Shrimps_ ,” Richard corrected without looking away from the tv.  
  
Katniss frowned.  
  
“And where’s Aiden?”  
  
“Dunno,” Richard muttered.  
  
Katniss raised her eyebrows at Mullin.  
  
The little girl crossed her arms and looked away quickly.  
  
“Mulls, where’s Aiden?”  
  
“I’m not telling,” she nodded once, firm.  
  
“Mulls,” Katniss said with a bit of command.  
  
“No!” She shouted, so cute in her protection of her brother’s plans that Katniss had to bite her lip to keep from smiling.  
  
She crossed her arms and twisted on one heel, trying to think of another tact to take with her daughter when a series of loud bangs on the roof caught all three of their attentions.  
  
The loud noise was followed quickly by the sound of feet thumping down the stairs, as Susan blew past them, yelling, “What was  _that_ ,” before jerking open the front door.  
  
“Peeta,” Katniss called out, joining Susan out on the front porch. Richard was already in the yard, standing with Susan and looking around in the dark, their clothes and the snow outside illuminated only by the exterior Christmas lights. Mullin stayed with Katniss on the porch, and snaked her hand into her mom’s. In response, Katniss pulled her up into her arms.  
  
Peeta was there a second later.  
  
“What is it,” he asked, staring at the plate he was drying with a dish towel.  
  
Katniss frowned at him, “Didn’t you hear that?”  
  
“Hear what?”  
  
“The bangs on the roof, dad!” Susan said with a huff before turning around and stomping past them and back into the house.  
  
Peeta watched through the open door as their eldest stalked back upstairs, and then he gave Katniss a  _she’s your daughter_  look.  
  
Katniss huffed, a perfect adult version of Susan’s huff, and then called Richard to come back inside. He was already shivering from the cold, protected only by thin pajamas and without socks on the shoveled, but icy walkway.  
  
“But it might be Santa,” he protested.  
  
Katniss looked for Peeta to back her up.  
  
“I think it’s too early for Santa, Rich. Do what mom says. You wouldn’t want Santa to put coal in your stocking because you wouldn’t listen to her.”  
  
The boy’s eyes grew wide with realization and he raced past them back inside, mumbling under his breath, “Santa, I’m a good boy! I’m a good boy! Please don’t give me coal!”  
  
“We’re traumatizing our children.”  
  
“Probably,” Peeta agreed, returning her wink. He waited for Katniss and Mullin to go back inside before following and returning to the dishes.  
  
Five minutes later, the loud banging returned. This time Peeta rushed out of the kitchen at the same time Susan cleared the stairs to investigate.  
  
“Now I heard  _that_!”  
  
“Aiden,” Katniss locked eyes with with him, face lit with alarm.  
  
Peeta threw open the door to get outside, but stopped short.  
  
On the porch was a basketball-sized box wrapped in bright green paper with a wide red ribbon tied into a big bow. There was a gift tag attached, disproportionately large for the size of the box.  
  
The sound of bells jangled from somewhere on the roof over their heads, but grew faint quickly.  
  
“Santa! Santa!” Mullin yelled, yanking on Katniss’ sleeve.  
  
Her little voice was a call to action, and Richard, Susan and Peeta all ran out into the snow-covered yard to get a view of the roof.  
  
“Mommy, Mommy, I want to see!”  
  
“Okay, Mulls.” Katniss went back inside, slipped on her shoes and then carried her out to join the others in the yard, but there was nothing visible on the roof. Richard was swaying, alternating which foot was taking on the cold of the cement. Katniss grunted to Peeta who picked him up and hauled him up onto his shoulders. The boy held his dad’s hands while they all kept watch until the sound of the bells, growing ever fainter, finally stopped.  
  
“It was Santa!” Mullin giggled.  
  
Peeta tipped his head, whistling in appreciation, “I think it might have been!”  
  
Katniss stared at him suspiciously, as did Susan.  
  
“Think we should check the present he left us, Rich?” Peeta squeezed his son’s hands and then jogged the few steps back up onto the porch and lowered the boy off his shoulders. He leaned into the front room and called, “Aiden! Aiden, I think Santa came and dropped off a present!”  
  
“Good luck with that tact,” Katniss whispered.  
  
Peeta leaned into her ear and whispered back, “Prepared to be impressed.”  
  
He pulled away, clapped his hands loudly and rubbed them greedily in front of the present, pulling everyone’s attention to it.  
  
“Since I’m the dad, I get to be the one to open it.”  
  
He quickly dropped to one knee and picked up the box, shaking it experimentally.  
  
“Wait! Dad! Dad! You have to see who it’s  _for_  first!” Mullin pushed herself against Katniss until she put her down and the little girl pulled Peeta’s hands away just as he was about to pull loose the bow.  
  
“Oh,” Peeta said, looking at his little girl and nodding his head in affirmation. “That’s an excellent point. But how would we know who it’s for?”  
  
“The gift tag,  _of course_!” Richard chimed, and immediately dropped to his knees and scooted right up to the box. He lifted the tag and flipped it over.  
  
His grin was replaced with a frown and deep lines that creased his forehead.  
  
“What is it? What is it?” Mullins shouted, trying to grab the tag out of his hands in her enthusiasm. “Is it for me?”  
  
Richard swatted away her hands, making her sniffle.  
  
“Rich,” Katniss reprimanded.  
  
Richard looked from his mom to his little sister and then bit his lip, “Sorry, Mulls.”  
  
Susan bent down and read over his shoulder, “It says, ‘To be opened only by Aiden Mellark.’”  
  
“Aiden! Aiden!” Mulls screamed right before running into the house and disappearing.  
  
Katniss met Peeta’s proffered fist-bump and he carried the box inside so they could close the front door.  
  
It took less than a minute before Mullin came back, victoriously tugging Aiden forward by the hand. Peeta rubbed his nose and Katniss sucked on her upper lip to keep from laughing. Little Aiden was dressed like a miniature Rambo, complete with a green headband and some sort of grease paint on his face meant to resemble the camouflage pajamas he had donned. He had a Nerf bow slung around his shoulders, and in the hand not being gripped by his sister, he clutched two toy arrows.  
  
Peeta gave Katniss another  _he’s your child_  look, but this one with a grin instead of a shrug.  
  
Aiden was clearly suspicious of the gift, his serious little face a mask of concern as he handed his arrows and bow to Katniss for safe keeping. He walked around the box several times and pushed at it with his toe.  
  
“Open it, open it!” Mullin clapped her hands.  
  
Aiden frowned at her, “It’s a trap. Santa knowth I’m gonna get him. He’th tryin’ to get me first!”  
  
Peeta couldn’t hold in his laugh this time, but quickly cleared his throat at the look Aiden leveled at him.  
  
But in the end, Mullin wouldn’t let up and Aiden couldn’t say no to his sister, so he knelt in front of the box and opened it with the caution of someone defusing a bomb. He took his time, but when he finally edged open the lid and got a look inside, he let it fall away with a disappointed sigh.  
  
No trap.  
  
Just mistletoe.  
  
He pulled the ribbon-tied clump of springs out, and then fished out the accompanying note. He handed both to his dad, ignoring Katniss’ outstretched hand in favor of his favorite parent.  
  
Peeta glanced over it and made an appreciative grunt, “It’s for me.”  
  
“Read it aloud, daddy!”  
  
“Okay, Mulls.” Peeta stood straighter and read the letter with an air of officiousness. “Dear Mellark Household. Due to my unfortunate encounter with one of Aiden’s clever traps last Christmas Eve, I nearly missed delivering presents to many of the the other boys and girls on my list. For this reason, I will not be stopping by tonight-”  
  
Loud, nearly instantly tearful protests by Richard and Mullin cut him off. Aiden’s cheeks flushed red.  
  
“Let me finish,” Peeta protested, and then looked back to the note. “For this reason, I will not be stopping by tonight  _unless_  all of the Mellark Children are either fast asleep in their bed early, or else doing their very best job of pretending they are asleep. If any of the children try to sneak out of bed, I will not stop by and I will not leave them presents.”  
  
There was another wave of protests.  
  
He continued, “Because Mrs. Clause and I know how hard it is for excited young children to go to sleep on the night before Christmas, I have left your father some of Mrs. Clause’s magical mistletoe. As soon as your father kisses each of you under it, you will have exactly ten minutes to get to your room and settle in for the night. The magic of the mistletoe is that-”  
  
Richard tugged at Katniss’ pants with a concerned look and Peeta paused while she leaned down to let him whisper into her ear.  
  
“I’m sure going to the bathroom is allowed, honey.”  
  
She and Peeta exchanged another smile before he continued.  
  
“The magic of the mistletoe is that it will let my elves at the North Pole know when you’ve been kissed and whether you’ve gone to bed on time. They will report directly back to me, and if you’re naughty and don’t stay in your rooms,” he paused to clear his throat, “ _except for emergency use of the bathroom_ , they will tell me! So be good, and I promise you’ll love your presents in the morning! Merry Christmas Eve to all of the Mellark children, and to all a goodnight! Signed, Santa.”  
  
“It’s like Sleeping Beauty,” Mullin clapped.  
  
“Not even close, short stuff” Susan grumbled.  
  
Peeta ignored them and held up the mistletoe.  
  
“Hmmmm, now who should I kiss  _first_?” He bobbed his eyebrows once and then all chaos broke out as soon as he started making loud smooching noises.  
  
Richard and Mullin ran off giggling into the living room just ahead of their dad’s exaggeratedly clawing hands, and Aiden darted into the kitchen on silent feet to make an escape out the back hallway.  
  
Susan planted her fists on her hips, rolled her eyes, and gave her mother a look meant to convey she was too mature to be amused.  
  
Katniss pulled her daughter into a hug and kissed her on the head, “Love you, Sooz.”  
  
Her daughter’s haughty expression melted instantly, “Love you too, mom.”  
  
They held each other, staring into each other’s faces for a few seconds while the sounds of tickling and chasing and kissing and running feet continued to flow out of the living room.  
  
“Dad’s just weird.”  
  
“Yes, and he’s also the best.” Katniss gave the girl a final squeeze, “Catch Aiden and I’ll slip a five into your stocking.”  
  
Her daughter raised an eyebrow, suddenly all negotiation, “Make it a ten, and you have a deal.”  
  
“My little extortioner. A ten? Really?”  
  
The girl gave her mother a wide, dimpled grin that was a perfect copy of her father’s, and then supplied affirmation of her own terms by proclaiming, “Deal,” at the same moment she strode off after Aiden.  
  
Katniss retreated to the living room and found Peeta chasing Richard around the couch. “I’m gonna get you, Rich! I’m gonna get you, and,” Peeta caught him and collapsed onto the couch with him, “tickle you!” The boy howled in laughter as his father found the ticklish spots at the bottoms of his feet. “And I’m gonna  _kisssssss_  you,” he held the mistletoe over the boy’s dark mop of hair and pressed a loud smack of a kiss against the boy’s cheek.  
  
“Gross!” The boy wiped at his cheek, still laughing.  
  
Katniss came over and lifted the boy into her arms, “Come on, babe. Santa’s clock is ticking now. You don’t want the elves to rat on you, so run upstairs and brush your teeth, quick.” She planted an equally loud kiss on the boy’s other’s cheek and then planted him on the stairs, patting his butt until he started moving up.  
  
Peeta, who was watching her from the couch, gave her a grin and a wink, “One down.” Katniss nodded to just behind him and he clicked off the tv.  
  
“Hmmm, I’ll bet if I listen  _really, really carefully_ … Oh… I hear you, Mulls,” he whispered a sing-song taunt. “I  _hear_  you!” His head rolled back, well honed dad radar sensing exactly where little Mullin was crouched behind him.  
  
Dad radar and her muffled giggling.  
  
He pounced, coming over the couch in one big leap. He tried to scoop her up in his arms but she was too fast. Together, he and Katniss cornered her. Peeta lifted her in a bear hug.  
  
“That’s no fair! Mommy helped you! That’s cheating!”  
  
“It’s not cheating, baby,” Katniss cooed, tickling her under the arms wile Peeta held her. “We’re a team, like you and Aiden.”  
  
Peeta held the mistletoe out to Katniss with two spare fingers. She held it over the little girl’s head, who, unlike her brother, stilled and stared up at the bundle with reverence.  
  
“Kiss me,” she squealed. “Kiss me so I can go to bed and Santa will bring me good presents!”  
  
“You want me to kiss you, Mulls?” Peeta swayed her in his arms, pretended to let her drop and then caught her. After her delighted cry, he lifted her back up.  
  
“And momma too!”  
  
Together, they each kissed her, playfully squishing her fat cheeks between their own faces.  
  
“Okay, put me down! Now I gotta go to bed!”  
  
Peeta put her down and the little girl made a fast, if slightly clumsy run at stomping up the staircase.  
  
“That just leaves Aiden.”  
  
“Susan’s on it,” Katniss confirmed.  
  
On cue, Susan appeared from the back hallway. She dragged Aiden along in her arms, kicking and uttering lispy threats for spoiling his attempt to get Santa.  
  
“I found him in a little cave he made with cans and cereal boxes in the pantry.”  
  
“Tattletale,” the boy grumbled.  
  
Peeta took the mistletoe and made quick work of kissing Aiden.  
  
“Aiden, go upstairs.” Katniss nodded and Susan let go of his arms. He squared his little shoulders defiantly and Katniss snapped her fingers and pointed, “Upstairs. Now. I’ll count to ten. One…”  
  
“Not going,” he snapped.  
  
“Two…”  
  
“Not going.”  
  
“Three…”  
  
“Not-”  
  
“Aiden! Aiden! Come up or Santa won’t give me a present!”  
  
Aiden looked up at his sister, who was standing at the top of the landing with tears forming in her eyes. He looked back to his mother, clearly still puffed in his impotent temper, but his eyes told the same story they always did.  
  
When his sister needed him, he came through.  
  
Always.  
  
“Fine,” he started up the stairs, head drooped as he took each step like it was the rise to a gallows.  
  
But the moment he was to his sister and she took his hand, they were both smiles and took off running for the bathroom to brush their teeth.  
  
With three down and one to go, Peeta and Katniss’ eyes fixed on Susan. Peeta took the mistletoe back from Katniss and held it up.  
  
The girl dodged abruptly, hopping precariously on one foot before regaining her balance.  
  
“Dad, this is so corny.”  
  
“Just go with it, Sooz.” He held the mistletoe over her head and wiggled it before adding pragmatically, “And there’s twenty bucks if you have a sleep over in your room and keep an eye on them.”  
  
“It wasn’t really Santa,” she challenged. “You just want to spend time alone with mom!”  
  
“It  _was_  Santa. And spending time with mom is  _my_  Christmas present.”  
  
“You’re gonna do dumb grown-up stuff, aren’t you?  _Sooooo gross_.”  
  
Peeta grinned, “If by gross you mean kiss her good and hard and do those things that got us you in the first place, then yes, very gross stuff.”  
  
“Peeta!” Katniss buried her face in her hands, mortified.  
  
Susan narrowed her eyes at her dad.  
  
“Fifty bucks.”  
  
Peeta’s eyes went wide. Katniss snorted.  
  
“Fifty bucks!” He held his ground, “Twenty.”  
  
“Forty…” She scowled, “And I’ll even read them their bedtime stories.  _And_  take them to the potty when they need it.”  
  
“Deal,” Peeta said quickly. He fished two twenties out of his wallet, held them over her head in lieu of the mistletoe and pecked a kiss on her nose.  
  
“Yuck!” But she grinned and snatched the money and jogged upstairs.  
  
“You know she already got ten out of me,” Katniss said as soon as she was out of ear shot.  
  
Peeta turned and gave her a hungry grin, “Worth every penny.”  
  
“And in record time, too. It’s not even nine.” She pressed her palm against his chest, “How’d you do all that? On the roof? With the bells? And the present on the porch the second time we opened the door?”  
  
“Finnick agreed to help me out.” He stepped towards her, backing her up against inside of the front door. “But beyond that, it’s trade secrets.”  
  
She raised an eyebrow, “Trade secrets?”  
  
“Proprietary  _dad_  secrets.”  
  
“Oh, I see.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of his jaw and then whispered into his ear, “You going to use that ‘magical mistletoe’ on me, Peeta?”  
  
He let his lips hover over hers, but didn’t kiss her. “Not a chance. The ‘magical mistletoe’ is to send you to sleep. Sleeping is the last thing on my mind.”  
  
“Well then, Buns,” she pressed the kiss and then pushed him back, “we’d better go open your present.”  
  
“Yes, please.”  
  
He laced his fingers through hers and followed her up to their bedroom, where she promptly disappeared into their bathroom. Peeta lit the little bastion of candles Katniss had set up on the corner dresser, turned off the overhead light, and then laid back onto the bed to watch shadows flicker across the walls.  
  
A few minutes later, Katniss came out wearing a red babydoll nightie with a giant, tilted bow where the bustier would traditionally be.  
  
“Wow,” he pushed himself up from the bed and gave a low whistle. “You look incredible.”  
  
She went to him and planted a suggestive kiss to the underside of his jaw.  
  
“Merry Christmas, Peeta.”  
  
He groaned and stepped away so his eyes could rove from her hair, still spread loose at her back where he’d freed it earlier, to the sheer fabric of her outfit that did nothing to hide the lines of her hips or the matching g-string, then down her legs and finally to her bare toes which were wiggling in the carpet.  
  
“I have a question,” he looked back up.  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
“How do you unwrap it?”  
  
Before she could explain, Peeta yanked on the tails of the bow covering her breasts. The ribbon structure collapsed entirely, and the nightie dropped and pooled at her feet. It left her in nothing but the thin triangle of fabric between her thighs.  
  
“Peeta! You did that too fast!”  
  
“Oops.”  
  
He looked anything but apologetic as his eyes traveled over her body again.  
  
She started to cover her breasts but he caught her hands and pulled them down her sides, straight arming so she was forced to take a step closer to him.  
  
“Don’t worry. I’ll rewrap and unwrap you several more times before it’s time to don the Santa suit for the present delivery downstairs.” He kissed her, and then shook his hands loose from hers so he could grab her by the hips and pull her the rest of the way to him.  
  
“Really,” her low tone was challenging.  
  
“Really,” he confirmed, dragging his lips down the side of her neck. “I’ve gotten really good at tying up presents this year.”  
  
“And will  _Santa_  get a chance to… tie up and unwrap a present too?”  
  
“Mmmm,” Peeta hummed against her shoulder while stroking the rough pads of his finger tips up and down her arms. “You want to get on Santa’s good list, do you?”  
  
“More like his naughty list.” She swallowed when he dipped his head and found one of her nipples with his mouth, “And there’s something about you in shiny black leather and red velvet I can’t quite resist.”  
  
“Well, bakers  _do_  do red velvet better than anyone.”

___

A few minutes after midnight, Katniss woke when her phone pinged a text alert. She hesitated when she realized Peeta wasn’t in bed next to her, but the phone pinged again so she snatched it off the night stand.  
  
There were two texts, both from Peeta. He had snuck downstairs to put out the presents.  
  
The first,  _I found one of Aiden’s patented Santa snares._  
  
The second,  _Come free me._  
  
A few seconds later, a third.  _Come free me, *please.*_  
  
Katniss giggled, proud of her little hunter, and typed back,  **Where?**  
  
_In the chimney._  
  
**What are you doing in the chimney!**  
  
_Trying to set off the same trap Aiden placed last year._  
  
**You knew it was there and you still got caught???**  
  
_He got the knot right this year and improved on the general design._  
  
While she was tying on a robe, her phone pinged again.  
  
_I should say he *drastically* improved on the general design. Bring the wire cutters from the tool kit in the garage._  
  
Ping.  
  
_And some WD-40._  
  
Ping.  
  
_And maybe an ace wrap._

____

At five am on the dot, all four kids descended on Peeta and Katniss in bed.  
  
Little Rich was the most excited and shouted, “You’ve gotta get up! You’ve gotta get up! It’s Christmas morning!”


End file.
